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8 Misunderstood Shark Facts to Set the Record Straight

Updated on Jul. 07, 2025

Sharks get a bad rap, but these misunderstood shark facts might turn your opinion around

Maneater or misunderstood? Shark facts explained

What comes to your mind when you think of sharks? The vengeful monster from Jaws? A dangerous predator lurking in the depths of the ocean? If you’re nodding along, thank the movies for that monstrous misconception. In reality, the dangerous-maneater myth is just one of many misunderstood shark facts. Sharks are actually essential for maintaining a healthy ocean ecosystem, and once Peter Benchley, the author of Jaws, realized how his book had negatively impacted the public perception of sharks, he dedicated much of his later career to shark conservation, education and dispelling negative shark myths.

Reader’s Digest compiled these eight fascinating yet misunderstood shark facts to help you get to know these top predators. Without them, our oceans would be very different—and not in a good way. Keep reading as we do a deep dive into little-known shark behavior and trivia.

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Hammerhead
Jan Finsterbusch/Shutterstock

Shark species number in the hundreds

Did you know there are more than 500 shark species? Most people are only familiar with a few specific species, such as great whites, but the vast majority of sharks aren’t that large, nor are they all carnivores. For example, the lantern shark is only eight inches long, and a hammerhead-type shark, called the bonnethead, eats plants in addition to shellfish.

A Great White Shark Surrounded by Small Fish
Shane Gross/Shutterstock

Sharks are picky eaters

Movies and TV shows perpetuate the idea that sharks love eating humans. In reality, sharks are notoriously picky eaters—and humans just aren’t tasty enough. Culum Brown, a fish biologist at Macquarie University in Sydney, told the Guardian that sharks respond strongly to the smell of fish and seals, not humans. And in creepier news, humans are hard for sharks to digest, since we have more than 200 bones in our bodies.

Galapagos shark swimming over a coral reef over a large school of fish, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.
wildestanimal/Shutterstock

Sharks build maps in their heads

Sharks obviously can’t whip out a phone to find their feeding grounds, so they navigate using mental maps. There are a few theories on how they create these maps, but the Earth’s magnetic field plays a key role, according to research reported in Current Biology. Others believe sharks can create these maps thanks to signals from ocean currents, water temperature or smell. Research also shows that sharks have amazing memories. In fact, sharks can be taught to recognize shapes and optical illusions—and remember them for at least a year.

Zebra shark swimming in blue water at Phi Phi, Thailand
Kjersti Joergensen/Shutterstock

Sharks can reproduce asexually

Well, some of them can, anyway. Leonie, an aquarium leopard shark in Australia, gave birth to pups even after being separated from male sharks for several years! One of Leonie’s offspring (from an earlier, more traditional coupling), called Lolly, also started reproducing asexually. Other shark species are female-forward as well: Great white sharks are known to be loners, but when groups of these sharks are together the females usually run the show.

Great white shark swimming just under the surface at Guadalupe Island Mexico
wildestanimal/Shutterstock

Sharks have advanced technology

Did you know that unlike fish, sharks don’t have scales? Instead, their skin has tiny teeth, called dermal denticles, that point backward and help them swim faster. They also don’t have skeletons, as their body is made of cartilage instead of bone. This lighter frame is one of the many reasons why sharks are fast swimmers.

Caribbean Reef Sharks Under the Boat
Matt9122/Shutterstock

Sharks are endangered

Incredibly, more than 100 million sharks are killed every year, and certain shark species are in danger of going extinct due to human impact and activities. Although banned in the United States and some other countries, shark finning is still one of the primary causes of endangerment. (Shark fins are used to make shark fin soup, which is a delicacy in China.)

Ironically, anti-finning laws may be contributing to a rise in shark deaths, according to research cited by Science, because fisheries created a market for the entire shark instead of the just fin. Other threats include climate change and habitat degradation.

Oceanic Black Tip Shark
Michael Bogner/Shutterstock

Shark attack deaths are rare

The Jaws mythology still holds strong 50 years later, but you’re more likely to die from a lightning strike, car accident, heart attack or stroke than a shark attack. According to the Florida Museum’s 2024 International Shark Attack File (ISAF), seven people died in unprovoked shark attacks in 2024, which is in line with the average of six people per year.

Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) breaching in an attack. Hunting of a Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias). South Africa
Sergey Uryadnikov/Shutterstock

Sharks are an important part of the food chain

Sharks are a key part in keeping the ocean system healthy. They have been top predators in the sea for more than 450 million years. Shockingly, sharks have been around almost 200 million years longer than dinosaurs! Without sharks, prey species like fish, seabirds and seals would multiply out of control, knocking the ocean’s ecosystem out of balance and depleting resources other species need to survive.

FAQs

Which species of shark is the most dangerous ?

The great white is generally considered the most dangerous shark species. While other sharks, like tiger sharks and bull sharks, are also responsible for attacks, great whites lead in both the total number of attacks and the number of fatal attacks. These sharks are also most frequently implicated in unprovoked attacks on humans, according to the ISAF. 

Which country has the most shark attacks?

The U.S. consistently tops the list of most unprovoked shark attacks, with Australia second. In 2024, the U.S. saw 28 unprovoked bites, with 14 of those happening off the coast of Florida. Other states with shark attacks in 2024: Hawaii, which had the lone fatality, as well as Texas, California, North Carolina and South Carolina. Australia had nine unprovoked attacks and no fatalities.

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Sources:

  • Science: “Meet the world’s first salad-eating shark”
  • Monterey Bay Aquarium: “Sharks”
  • Guardian: “‘Sharks don’t like to eat people’: attack statistics contradict untested theories”
  • Reef Builders: “Leopard Shark ‘Virgin Birth’ at Reef HQ Townsville Australia”
  • Current Biology: “Map-like use of Earth’s magnetic field in sharks”
  • Oceana: “Seven Reasons Female Great Whites are Worth Celebrating”
  • ThoughtCo: “Placoid Scales on Sharks and Rays”
  • Science: “Shark kills rise to more than 100 million per year—despite antifinning laws”
  • Pensacola News Journal: “Florida is the shark-attack capital of the world. Here’s what’s more likely to kill you”
  • Florida Museum: “The ISAF 2024 shark attack report”
  • Florida Museum: “Species Implicated in Attacks”